You can get birth control without a doctor's prescription in California, but there's a catch

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A California law gives women access to birth control without a doctor’s prescription by allowing pharmacists to prescribe instead. But there’s a catch: not all pharmacies offer this service. And those that do must abide by a guideline.

Access to contraceptives covers self-administered methods, which include: birth control pills, the patch, the ring and the depo shot. According to a report by the CDC, which looked at data from 1982 to 2010, the birth control pill was the most popular method of contraception with 81.9% of women preferring it over other self-administered methods.

When it comes to this service, pharmacists are not obligated to provide prescriptions for contraceptives, but to do so, they must be trained.

“The pharmacists have to complete a one-hour course available online, and then they’re licensed to do this,” said Becca Karpinski, Vice President of Strategy at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.

This process, she said, relies on women to do their own research and determine which method of contraception they prefer. Yet, this service, initially intended to facilitate access to birth control, isn’t available in every California pharmacy.

Alma Nito, 44, a resident of Palm Springs for 17 years, didn't know about the service at all. She obtained her birth control prescription from a doctor.

"I would sometimes get a Pap smear exam. I filled out paperwork asking which method of birth control I wanted to use. I chose the pill." Being able to get the prescription at a local pharmacy without first having to see a doctor would have been easier, she said.

Like Nito, other women in the community don't know about the option to skip the doctor's office and go to a local pharmacy for contraceptives exists and without demand, the service becomes harder and harder to find.

“At the end of the day, it’s a demand-driven thing, so if a pharmacy is positioned to provide the medication – they’ve gone through the training, they’re ready to provide it and they're getting demand for it – they clearly will provide the service, if there’s a way they can be reimbursed,” Virginia Harold, Executive Officer at the California Board of Pharmacists, told The Desert Sun.

But the problem, she explained, is that pharmacists are not getting paid for this.

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Another issue is that in a store where only one or a few pharmacists are trained to prescribe birth control, it might be difficult for a patient seeking contraceptives to walk in at the right time. It becomes more of a one-off ordeal.

"This is an important opportunity for women to have access to a healthcare provider," Harold added. "For this to really become a valuable service and a reliable service for pharmacies, there's going to have to be some consumer demand for it."

In other words, if you want your local pharmacies to offer birth control without a doctor's prescription, then you must go inside and request it.

In the meantime, here’s a guide on how to obtain birth control without a doctor's prescription in the Coachella Valley:

1. Call the pharmacy you wish to visit (see the list below) and set up a time to go in.

2. Have $35 to $45 handy and a photo ID (whether a driver's license or foreign ID), since that’s how much the screening typically costs. Some insurance companies will cover the cost of contraceptives but not the cost of the consultation.

3. Health screening: the first thing the pharmacist will have you do is fill out a questionnaire on your health history – from the date of your last menstrual period to any health conditions, such as diabetes. Then, the pharmacist will take your blood pressure to determine if you’re eligible for birth control.

4. If there’s a birth control method you prefer maybe because you’ve used it in the past or simply because you've done your research, let the pharmacist know. If they don’t have the medication in stock, they can usually place an order.

The following list is based on the Birth Control Pharmacies search feature and has been fact-checked by The Desert Sun. These are the pharmacies in the Coachella Valley that provide birth control without a doctor’s prescription: